Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2:1-11; Rom 8:8-17; John 14:15-16, 23-6
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
3 Jun 2001
It was this conviction that the Spirit had come upon them that transformed the apostles and disciples from good, frightened believers into preachers and miracle workers of courage and initiative; the first of many generations who suffered persecutions off and on for 300 years; and who survived, and expanded during these long years. The passage from the Acts of the Apostles today tells us of that turning point, that transforming miracle.
We think of the Spirit in terms of wind and air, "the breath of God", as a lifegiving flame, something alive and enlightening, being different from and greater than matter. If we are to recognize this immanent and often anonymous presence of God, then we have to be sensitive to the reality of that part of the universe beyond the realm of our physical senses.
We know that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity; we know too that Christ promised to send the Spirit to be with the Church through all ages.
It is of course the Spirit who gives authority to decisions taken in the name of the Church; through the Spirit sins are forgiven, the Church has increased, multiplied and survived during the two thousand years of her history despite the best efforts of our opponents and all the sin and stupidities committed by Christians, sometimes even in the name of Christ himself.
To say that the Spirit is with the Church does not mean that she cannot not make mistakes, and adopt courses of action which are fruitless and even dangerous. The Spirit is with us in our lean years as well as our good years.
For this, we have to realise that the Spirit works through our weakness as well as apparent strengths; that He is certainly at work in the other Christian Churches and in fact wherever good is being performed.
Paul writing to the Romans instructed them that they must not be interested only in unspiritual things, like money, possessions, holidays, even our work. What are the spiritual things which should concern us? Worship, prayer, love, forgiveness, thanksgiving.
There is an eternal conversation of the heart of the Godhead between Father and Son, which we call the Holy Spirit. While the Spirit is among us, the Spirit is beyond us; the Spirit is the beyond in our midst. A personal presence of love for us beyond our imagining.
We need to into these divine sound waves; it is not difficult to be deaf in our busy, noisy, pleasure seek, society. Therefore regular prayer is important to maintain and deeper our sensitivity to the Spirit. This is regularly difficult, and not always pleasurable. We have to persevere and ask the Spirit for help.
Prayer helps us drive away that fear, which is so regularly the opposite of faith. We love a personal God, the source of energising love and interest in each one of us; not those vast impersonal forces, the relentless laws of nature which rule the universe and sometimes strike us unfairly. The Spirit of God is beyond all this, greater, infinitely kind and healing especially when we are wounded. Prayer helps us realise this and continue to realise it.
There is no doubt that the Spirit is at work in the hearts of all individuals, prompting us to reflection and insight, urging us to be prudent, not to be rash or foolish, to sleep on it because "morning is cleverer than evening". It is the Spirit who sharpens our readiness to help, who jogs our good will. But this is not the whole story.
As well as the Spirit of God there are the spirits of the evil in the world and in our hearts, the personal conflict between our feelings of inferiority and arrogance, our urges to serve or to dominate, the bewildering and complex struggle between the beast and the Spirit, the frustration, guilt and suffering that always attend the interplay of good and evil.
The story of the Fall, the theory of original sin which explains the presence of evil in the world (an evil presence which God does not want) not only separates Christianity from religions of the East such as Hinduism, but also from many contemporary pagans who deny the existence of evil in men's hearts and place it somewhere else, outside in the structures of society.
The presence of the Spirit therefore means a struggle against evil, personally and communally. Because of our weaknesses the Spirit brings the pain of judgment on our past as well as the promise of future glory. Judgment and promise go hand in hand as there is no birth without pain, no death and dying without suffering. To quote Bishop Taylor author of The Go Between God, "the resurrection will not set us free for the future unless the cross also sets us free from the past."
We are called to God and to wholeness, but innocence is not an available option. This is why today's gospel from John has Jesus insisting, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments". These are essential signposts, pointing out the best way to travel to God. We need the Spirit of wisdom to recognise the beauty of these commands and to have courage to follow them.
It should be a special task for the Catholic Community to help all Australians approach the Divine Power, hidden so effectively in our society, with a sense of reverence and love. May we all be more open to God's presence and his revelation.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
